It wasn't too long ago that George Karl was almost let go for his rift with Sacramento Kings forward DeMarcus Cousins.
Karl was able to weather that storm and has magnificently proven his worth despite that slight setback. In fact the Kings may have done themselves a big favor by sticking with the veteran head coach who officially passed former coach and current New York Knicks president Phil Jackson on the National Basketball Association (NBA) all-time wins list.
Karl registered his 1,156th win over the Oklahoma City Thunder last Monday that allowed him to tie the Zen Master, improving his record with the Kings to 25–39 overall. The feat came shortly after a victory against Phoenix Suns that allowed Karl to tie Jackson for fifth in terms of number of wins in the NBA. Sacramento is the sixth team handled by the 63-year-old coach.
Other teams that Karl has handled include:
- Cleveland Cavaliers (1984–86)
- Golden State Warriors (1986–88)
- Seattle Supersonics (1992–98)
- Milwaukee Bucks (1998–2003)
- Denver Nuggets (2005–13)
Of that mix, Karl's best achievement came with the Supersonics when he led the team to the 1995–96 NBA Finals. Among the players he had back then were Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton, Nate McMillan, and Detlef Schrempf.
Before becoming the head coach of the Kings, he had to overcome cancer during his time with the Denver Nuggets as well.
Right now though, his focus is on how to get the Kings back in the playoff hunt, something that he has been known to do before.
The Kings are currently at ninth place in the Western Conference and much of the talk these days are on whether or not the ball club will be trading up Cousins soon.
For some reason, Cousins has been the subject of trade rumors and Karl isn't even the one batting for it. Could the Kings be ready to face reality that Cousins hasn't exactly turned out to be the franchise player they had hoped him to be?
Regardless, Karl is expected to work with whatever resources he has on the table. The team has a good shot at making the postseason and, hopefully, Karl can whip up the boys to do better from here on.
